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Over 70 licensed launch facilities now operate globally — 20 commissioned since 2020.
| Attribute | Palmachim Airbase 🇮🇱 Israel Active · Last updated 2026-06-01Trust: Operator-primaryⓘ Last verified Remove × | Uchinoura Space Center 🇯🇵 Japan Active · Last updated 2026-06-01Trust: Agency-primaryⓘ Last verified Remove × | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | Israel Defense Forces / Israel Aerospace Industries | JAXA | Iranian Space Agency (ISA) / IRGC Aerospace Force |
| Ownership | Military | Government | Military |
| Region | 🇮🇱 Israel | 🇯🇵 Japan | 🇮🇷 Iran |
| Launch pads | 1 active (classified IAF facility)as of [1] ↑ Most pads | 1 orbital (M-V pad, reconfigured for Epsilon-S)as of [1] ↑ Most pads | — |
| Annual launches | 1–2as of [1] | 1–2as of [1] | 1-3 |
| Max payload (LEO) | ~350 kg to retrograde LEO (Shavit-2)as of [1]Launches westward over Mediterranean due to geopolitical overflight constraints; unusual retrograde orbit ↑ Highest capacity | 700 kg to SSO (Epsilon-S target)as of [1]Epsilon-S return-to-flight following 2022 failure under investigation | — |
| First operational launch | 1988-09-19as of [2]Ofeq-1 — Israel's first satellite; first nation ever to launch into retrograde orbit from a dedicated national site | 1970-02-11as of [1]Ohsumi — Japan's first satellite; first satellite launched by a non-superpower | 2008 |
| Regulatory regime | Israel Space Agency (ISA) civil oversight; Ministry of Defense controls dual-use launches and Ofeq reconnaissance program | MEXT / Cabinet Office Space Activities Act (2018, amended 2023) | Iranian Space Agency (ISA) civil; IRGC Aerospace Force military; subject to UN Security Council Resolution 2231 missile-technology restrictions and US OFAC / EU sanctions blocking all Western commercial engagement |
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